The Effects of Gamification on the Formation of a Habit of Studying in Tertiary Level Students

Many students find studying uninteresting, arduous, and they feel that they are forced to study despite electing to take part in their chosen course. When students plan to study, they must find a place to study, select a module, and select the information required. Once that is complete, they fight the temptations of the internet, social media, and the pull of their social lives. While those listed above, are all individual study habits, they do not constitute a habit of studying due to the difficulty in completing them together. For these and other reasons, many students do not form a habit of studying. This problem is worth addressing as it will allow students to develop a habit of study which may help to reduce the dropout rate across Irish third level colleges. A solution to this problem must engage and motivate students, so they will want to repeat the behaviour of studying with enough regularity as to form a habit. Gamification is a promising approach to address this problem. Games are fun and engaging and many people are intrinsically motivated to play video games. Game elements include social play, progression, and goals, to name a few. The question our study aims to answer is "Does gamification have an effect on student's ability to form habits of study?". A gamified system has been developed that will help students study regularly. This tool allows users to view slides, create notes, answer a range of questions that allow them to test their knowledge, and work with others in group sessions. Group sessions allow for the sharing of knowledge between users. This is shown in a consensus game mode that requires all participants to agree on an answer. This system will be deployed as a mobile app and website. Tests and interviews have been conducted and a prototype has been developed. This prototype will track how the students use the gamified system. With the use of the game elements mentioned above and more, our research may show that gamification has a place helping students to study.